The economy

The economy

Operating as a single market with 28 countries, the EU is a major world trading power.

EU economic policy seeks to sustain growth by investing in transport, energy and research – while minimising the impact of further economic development on the environment.

Measuring the EU’s economy

The EU's economy — measured in terms of the goods and services it produces (GDP) — is ahead of the United States. EU GDP in 2015:

€14,600 billion

Trade

With just 6,9% of the world’s population, the EU's trade with the rest of the world accounts for around 20% of global exports and imports.

Over 62% of EU countries’ total trade is done with other EU countries.

The EU is one of the three largest global players for international trade, next to the United States and China. In 2014, the EU’s exports of goods were equivalent to 15.0 % of the world total. They were surpassed for the first time since the EU was founded by those of China (15.5 %), but were still ahead of the United States (12.2 %), which had a larger share of world imports (15.9 %) than either the EU (14.8 %) or China (12.9 %).

Employment

Employment has also been hit by the global economic crisis, and the turbulence in the eurozone.

Research

Research and development (R&D) lies at the heart of the EU’s strategy to make its economy more competitive. The aim is to invest more to bring its R&D spending in line with that of the United States and Japan.

Transport

The proportion of journeys made by car has increased slightly since 2008 – compared with other forms of road transport (such as coaches and buses). The EU continues to support investment in and restructuring of rail transport.

In spite of the current economic crisis, global air transport looks set to expand by around 5% a year until 2030. As traffic increases, so do concerns about safety. EU aviation policy aims to make European air space the safest in the world.